The present invention relates, generally, to electronic amusement devices, and more particularly to electronic amusement devices which reproduce digitized sound.
It is desirable that a child find a toy entertaining and interesting, and that the toy be educating and provide feedback to the child. To this end a number of sound producing amusement devices use audio interaction. In such devices, sounds are prerecorded in analog form on disc or tape, or are recorded in digital form. Such sound producing devices generally provide little visual interaction, and are not particularly conducive to stimulating a child's imagination. Examples of such toys are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,620 issued to Breedlove on May 7, 1985, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,536 issued to Sanders on Nov. 17, 1987.
Electronic audio toys that require spelling, reading, or fine motor skills, are not appropriate for small children. Furthermore, in many electronic audio toys, once the toy begins generating a particular sound, the sound is generated to completion. During the interim, the generation of new or different sounds is inhibited. This can be a source of frustration to small children; to the small child's mind, when a stimulus is provided, e.g., a button is pushed, a sound should be generated, and the toy therefore is not responding to an appropriate stimulus.
Another problem with electronic audio toys is maintaining the power supply. For example, if a toy is thrown in a toy box, and a button inadvertently depressed, when the child returns the batteries may be exhausted. Many existing electronic audio toys generate sound using a sound microchip in conjunction with an inexpensive piezo speaker, and the resulting sound is of relatively low quality. Other problems with electronic audio toys include incorporating speakers into the toy while maintaining a suitable profile and providing a sensing mechanism that is appropriate for small children.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electronic amusement device that provides high quality audio and visual stimulation while encouraging a child to use his or her imagination. Preferably the device would, to some extent, be educational, yet maintain a child's interest and be suitable for a small child to use. Furthermore, there is a need for an energy saving mechanism to prevent rapid discharge of batteries and an interrupt feature to provide for immediate response each time a child selects a sound to be generated.